Pawan Khera arrested on complaint by Assam BJP leader: Police

Guwahati/Haflong: A police case was registered against senior Congress leader Pawan Khera in Dima Hasao district of Assam for his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and a team has already been sent to New Delhi for a probe, a senior officer said on Thursday.

The Congress leader was on Thursday arrested by the Assam Police after a complaint was lodged by Hen Samuel Changsan against Khera at Haflong police station.

Khera was apprehended at New Delhi airport before being released on interim bail by Supreme Court.

Dima Hasao Superintendent of Police Mayank Kumar told PTI that Changsan filed a complaint against Khera on Wednesday for his comments on PM Modi and other issues.

Changsan is a BJP leader and currently an Executive Member of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council.

"His (Khera) comments against the PM form one part of the FIR. There are other complaints also. The case was registered yesterday under several sections of the IPC," the SP said.

Kumar said a police team has already gone to New Delhi to investigate the case.

Changsan in his complaint alleged that Khera's remarks at a press meet on February 17 were not only "insulting, defamatory and derogatory" to Modi and his deceased father, but also "provocative" to BJP workers and the PM’s followers.

The complainant also alleged that Khera's remarks were "a part of a wider conspiracy to degrade and destabilise our nation by defaming and disreputing the person, who is holding a high constitutional post as Prime Minister of India".

The Congress leader also "intentionally" caused a "breach of public peace, with an intent to incite violence and disturb peace and tranquility in the society" and the statements were made to "cause public mischief", the FIR alleged.

He said in the complaint that there is an "intent to discredit and destabilise the nation by disreputing the Prime Minister of our country which can also be seen as a part of that deep-rooted conspiracy by certain vested and interested circle of which Khera is a part".

Reacting strongly to the police action, Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah criticised the Assam Police and the ruling BJP.

"What sort of high-handedness is this? Is there any rule of law? On what grounds is this being done and under whose order?" asked the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President.

In a similar manner, Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani, an Independent MLA then, was arrested by Assam Police on April 19 last year from Palanpur in Gujarat and was brought to the border district Kokrajhar in the Northeastern state for tweeting against the Prime Minister.

As soon as he was granted bail in the case, he was immediately rearrested on April 25, 2022, in a case in Barpeta district of Assam on a complaint by a woman police officer alleging that she was assaulted by Mevani while being taken to Kokrajhar by a posse of police personnel in a vehicle from Guwahati airport.

Giving bail to the Gujarat politician, the Barpeta District and Sessions Court had pulled up the Assam Police for lodging a "false FIR" and urged the Gauhati High Court to direct the state police force to "reform itself".

The Gauhati High Court later stayed the observations made in the Barpeta court's bail order on Mevani.